The Book Master
by A Hopeless Optimist
Summary: Hayden Carpenter, a 10-year-old dyslexic girl, is thrown into the world of her favorite story.
1. Richmond County Home for Girls

They giggled and pointed at me. Like I couldn't see or hear them. They pointed at the headphones in my ears, and the book in my hands. I listened to books on CD while attempting to read the book; I thought it might help me with my dyslexia. Right now I was reading the four released books from the Percy Jackson series for the hundredth time.

I just rolled my eyes at them and sat back in the bus seat and closed my eyes. My friend Skylar shook me back to reality when our stop came along. I stepped on the foot of one of the girls who had just been making fun of me. I didn't mean to do it, but I didn't say sorry either.

The other girls all went inside. I stood and looked at the sign._ Richmond County Home for Girls._ Fancy words for an orphanage. I have been here for as long as I could remember. I don't even know how I came to be here, I didn't have the courage to ask the administrators. For all I know, my parent's last name wasn't even Carpenter, and I was just given that name so that I wouldn't have to only be known as Hayden. And I don't even know how I got that name.

I walked inside. Ms. Donna greeted me as I walked in. I gave her a quick wave before heading up the stairs to my room. My room was the room designated for the girls ages 10 to 12. I am at the bottom of that spectrum. There are ten of us exactly and the room is dominated by five bunk beds. An old TV sits in the corner, it's static-y and off color. That's the place that the majority of the girls in my room spend their afternoons. I was usually one of them, but today I was devoted to my reading, which was really mostly listening to the voice that said things just a little too slow.

I had claims to the bottom bunk on the side of the room closest to the window. My best friend Skylar was already adjusted in her bunk above me. She was probably watching the TV from up there, but I couldn't be sure.

For a while I tried to read without listening to the CD, but I wound up getting so frustrated that I gave it up altogether. I joined Skylar above me. She was half listening to music, half watching TV. She smiled at me as I climbed the tiny ladder. We watched the TV for a while before she finally spoke.

"You wanna go out and play basketball?" she asked me while she looked out at the basketball court.

"Sure," I said as I started to make my way off the bed. We'd managed to get two more recruits for a small game before heading out. Me and Skylar were a team against Lexi and Lauren. Two of the older girls in our room.

We played the game until it started to rain, at which point it was almost time for dinner anyway. I went into one of the dingy old bathrooms to wash up. Looking in the mirror, something seemed to be off. I swear that I could see a slight glow around myself, like I was lit up. Granted, the same mirror made my skin tinge green so it was probably nothing. I shook my head and then went out to join the other girls in line for food.

The Home serves as a place for girls from babies to age 17. Once they turn 18 they set them off on their own, whether they have what they need to make it or not. That's why most of the girls older than 15 are never here. As soon as you are able to get a job, you get a job. Even some of the girls just a little older than me are doing odd jobs for neighbors in walking distance. There are about 40 of us, give or take. And only about five of them were younger than me, because the younger you are, the more people want to adopt you, for whatever reason.

The dinner line was similar to a buffet line. You walk with your plates through the cooks' kitchen and grab everything that comes your way. We are usually served milk or water with dinner. No soda for any of us.

I sat at one of the two long tables next to Skylar and a 16-year-old girl named Victoria. Dinner tonight was mashed potatoes and sliced ham. Ms. Donna and a few other administrators were starting their nightly routine of talking to some of the girls, asking how their day was, how the food was, blah, blah, blah. I know that they tried to make us feel like we were a family and that we had a place where we belonged, but I would rather them treat us like what we are, orphans. I would rather be treated like garbage than to be in the middle of the illusion of family they tried to create for us. I don't like fake.

"Hello, Hayden," I looked up, it was Miss Michelle. "How was your day today?" I could have told her what she wanted to hear, that my day was good, short and sweet. But I didn't.

"Girls on the bus were making fun of me for my dyslexia," I tried to say it in a way that didn't seem like I was trying to earn sympathy, but I'm not sure if it came out like that.

"Oh, well that's okay, you're just different, that's all," then she moved on to talk to Skylar. _What? I'm just different? What's that supposed to mean?_

Victoria laughed beside me. Even when I turned to look at her she didn't bother to try to hide it. I guess I don't like Victoria anymore…

As soon as Miss Michelle moved on to the kids at the next table Skylar turned to me.

"'You're just different'? What kind of comfort is that? Some family this is…" Skylar was like me. She wanted a family more than anything. She would kill for that family. But until then she doesn't want a fake one. I raised my eyebrows and shrugged, turning back to my food.

After dinner ended, they made us all go out in the courtyard, of sorts, and just play around. They thought that this was some form of bonding, but most people just found it annoying because after dinner we wanted to go to our rooms and relax.

The four of us playing before decided to continue our game. More and more girls eventually joined in though, so we never did decide the winners of the original game. The sun finally set, and we were instructed to go back inside, and go to our rooms.

Despite the fact that I've lived with the same group of girls all my life, I never got to the point where I was comfortable changing in front of them. So I hung up my blankets under Skylar's mattress and changed in my little cave, just like every night. And then I took them down and went to sleep.


	2. School Scare

I woke up the next morning to Skylar as she climbed off her bunk. The wood squeaked as she made her way down. I lay there as she got ready for school and left out the door before anyone else in the room was awake. She was in the choir. So she had to be there an hour before everyone else. I shut my eyes, but I knew there was no use in trying to get back to sleep now. I decided to go and take a shower in peace before everyone else was fighting to get in. I brought with me my clothes, and everything else I need to get ready for the day.

I walked out the door and shut it. I turned around and stopped dead. Right in front of me there was a mouse. It stood up on its hind legs like it was a cartoon character. I swear the thing was looking right at me.

_Hello, Miss._ I heard in my mind. I screamed. I was sure it was my imagination, but it seemed like it came from the mouse. My scream caused it to run away back into the hole in the wall. I shook my head, trying to clear it. _I must not be a morning person_, I thought to myself.

I went to a different bathroom than the one I'd been in yesterday. My seemed-to-be-glowing skin in that reflection still freaked me out just a little.

I got dressed and wiped the steam from the mirror. I narrowed my eyes at myself. Different mirror, but I still looked off. I sighed as I gathered my stuff and head back up the stairs to the room.

Most everyone was awake now and bustling around as they got ready for school. I threw my stuff on my bed and hurried back out of the room. Opting to let my hair air dry.

"Early riser today, Hayden?" Ms. Donna asked me as I stepped onto the ground floor.

"Guess so," I said.

I went to the table where breakfast was already set up. We didn't have cooks this early in the morning, so we had the same thing every morning. Cereal. Cheerios. Bought in bulk every week, to have every single morning.

Annie was the next person to come down the stairs. Annabeth, really, but her black hair and brown eyes ruined my impression of the Percy Jackson Annabeth, so I called this one Annie.

"Morning," she said to me as she helped herself to the cereal.

"Morning," I said smiling. That was the end of our conversation. Annie was the quiet type. One-by-one everyone else filed down the stairs and the room was loud as ever. Without Skylar here I had no one that I really considered my friend, so I went back up the stairs and into the room. I looked through my stuff, being OCD and checking to see that I had everything twice. I wasn't officially diagnosed with OCD, but I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD or dyslexia either, and I am 100% positive that I have all three.

I walked back out the door, and I saw that mouse again. I'm sure it was unlikely that it was the same mouse, but it seemed like it was in the same spot, looking right at me. I ran down the stairs before anything else strange could happen. I sat outside on a bench in the sun as I waited for the bus. Eventually everyone else joined me and my peaceful air was filled with mindless chatter.

Even though I had been out there first, I was the last to get on the bus when it finally came because everyone pushed me out of the way so that they could get their seats. When I finally made it on myself, I spotted Holli, my only friend besides Skylar, so I went to sit by her. Holli is a rich girl, she gets everything she wants, and you can tell, because she's a spoiled brat. But she was nice to me when we met, so we stuck together. She smelled like Ginger, her pet horse, not the spice. She always smelled like horses, I found it strange that she made no attempt to rid herself of the scent, not that I would ever say anything.

"Sup, Blondie?" she said to me as I sat down.

"Haha," I laughed sarcastically. She looked at me oddly. Almost like she was judging me, but I had gotten used to that. She flared her nostrils for a moment and then settled back into the grey bus seat.

Skylar was already sitting in her seat in Mrs. Westmark's classroom. I sat beside her. It wasn't my seat, but class hadn't started yet, so I didn't care.

"Hey," I said smiling.

"Hi," she said happily.

"Good choir class?" I asked.

"Mrs. Miller gave me a solo," she said cheerfully.

"Cool," I said. Kids were starting to file in now so I went to my desk on the other side of the room. Basil came into the room. Great. Basil was a curly-haired, acne-faced boy who never took his eyes off of me. Granted, he watched Holli a lot when she was around, but still it bothers me to no end to be watched.

We started off the day learning social studies, and then moved on to science and reading. After that was the only part of the day anyone really cares about: lunch and recess. I walked in silence with Skylar to the lunchroom. We sat down together alone at one of the smaller round tables. Holli found us and sat there as well.

"How's Mrs. Westmark?" she asked as she sat down. Mrs. Westmark had a reputation for being the meanest teacher in the school.

"Oh she's just great," Skylar said sarcastically. I nodded my agreement. Holli poked at the mystery cafeteria food on her plate.

"Uggh," she said in disgust, "I need a napkin." She got up to go to the condiments table but something weird happened. She hit her leg on one of the legs of the table. It made a sharp _twang _sound, like metal on metal. That was weird, but I just shook my head and started to eat my lunch.

The rest of lunch went just as normally as it has the whole month we've been in school. The three of us loners sitting at the table in the corner. Just normal. Then came recess.

The three of us walked out of the lunch room together. We walked down the long hallway that would lead us to the playground. We exited the door. We were some of the first kids out.

"Race to the swings?" Holli asked.

We all looked at each other and with no official starting words, we all bolted for the swings at the far end of the playground. Holli took the lead, but I was right on her tail, and I was sure Skylar was right behind me. We passed Basil, who was sitting on top of the monkey bars near the swings. He watched us as we passed.

Just as I had overtaken Holli, I heard Skylar behind me hit the ground. I stopped and turned. Holli was already walking back to where she was. I jogged to catch up with her. I was suddenly aware of Basil watching us.

Skylar was holding her knee. I could see blood squeezing out between her fingers. I knelt beside her and removed her hand to see the damage. She had scraped her knee bad on the bark chips when he fell. Holli moved to the other side of Skylar. I put my hand over the wound. Holli perked, and I swear I could see Basil doing the same from the corner of my eye.

When I removed my hand, all that remained was the blood that had already left her body. The cut was gone completely, and even the blood was starting to disappear.

I looked up at Holli completely perplexed. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Miraculous healing ability," she said to me.

And then her hair turned to flames and she lunged for my throat.


	3. A Runaway

I'm still not exactly sure what happened after that. Skylar screamed and without doubt I did too. From reading Percy Jackson, I immediately thought that she was like the _empousai _Percy ran into in book four. But this is real life, not Greek mythology.

Basil tackled her, I don't know how he got there so fast, but as soon as she fell to the ground she disappeared. My eyes were wide, I looked at Skylar, she was looking at the bare ground where Holli disappeared, then to her non-existent injury and then to me. She probably would've screamed again, but Basil pointed to her and she seemed to faint against the ground. Basil grabbed my arm and dragged me up.

"Come on, Hayden, we have to go," I was in such shock that I didn't even protest as he dragged me away from the playground, running.

Before I knew it we were back at the Home.

"Go in and gather your stuff, she'll probably be back soon," Basil said, looking around as if she might pop out of the ground, or fall from the sky.

I was as confused as anyone could ever be. But I was just as equally scared that I did what he said. I raced up the stairs, ignoring the confused looks I got from the staff that actually stuck around during the day. Sadly, all of what I owned fit in the oversized backpack that I used for school. Of course, it was much heavier now, but it was still all that I needed.

I ran back down the stairs and outside. I ignored the calls of, "Hayden!" as I ran back out the door.

Within the short time between going up and coming down a white van appeared. It took me a moment but I could finally distinguish that on the side was painted _Delphi Strawberry Service. _I stopped in my tracks. _No. Way._

"Is this some kind of joke?" I asked Basil. He looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"A joke? No, this is not a joke; your life is in danger. I need to get you to camp," he said as he started to drag me toward the van.

"What camp?" I asked, swallowing away the fear I had at what the answer would be.

"Camp Half-Blood," he said, "I'll explain on the way."

_Oh, I don't think I'll need any explaining._

**XxX**

He told me all of the stuff that I already knew. It was tough for me to nod along and act like I didn't already know. Although I bet the shock that I had of a different kind sufficed. He had even taken off his pants to show me his furry goat legs.

"I've already manipulated the mist so that no one will remember you. No one will know to question where you went. And your friend Skylar will have no bizarre story to tell." I nodded, realizing that the life that I knew was over. I could always continue to question if Basil was just messing with me. But I was pretty sure that the satyrs acting skills weren't that good.

I sat back and closed my eyes, trying to absorb all of the information that I had just been given.

**XxX**

_My life, _I decided, _is officially over._ If Basil manipulated the mist so that it was if I never existed, then I will have no home to return to. Not even the Home. If I were to go back now, they would probably kick me out and call me crazy.

I didn't realize how fast we were going until I opened my eyes and saw the Atlantic Ocean flying by.

"How much longer until we get there?" Basil looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"That's the first question you have in all of this?" I shrugged.

"I need to rest," he nodded in understanding.

"Less than half an hour," he estimated.

The van took a sharp turn inland and now I could see the ocean disappearing through the two tiny windows in the back.

I was finally starting to get uncomfortable. I had lived with girls my entire life and had next to zero experience in interacting with boys. Being alone with two of them, human or not, was starting to make me feel awkward. I settled back in my seat, crossing my legs in a way that made me face away from them. I still could not believe, that a book had come to life.


End file.
